Shell growth checks are unreliable indicators of age of the Abalone Haliotis rubra (Mollusca: Gastropoda)

Abstract

The results of tag-recapture studies on three Victorian populations of the abalone Haliotis rubra showed that the frequency of growth checks in the shells of individuals was not annual. The use of shell growth checks as a method for age determination of H. rubra is not reliable because of variation in the frequency of growth checks between populations and the inability to count growth checks in the shells of most individuals.